Didn't You Used to Be a GM?


Ruben Amaro Junior spent almost six years as the Phillies general manager, overseeing a pennant winning club as it slowly but surely began to unravel. Each successive year, the club dropped back a notch from pennant winner to losing in the League Championship Series, losing the Division Series, finishing out of the playoffs with a .500 record and then a losing record far from contention. 
The Philadelphia native -- and onetime backup outfielder for his hometown team, as well as the club his father played for -- lost his job last summer. Led by new top management, the Phils decided to complete a tear down and begin to rebuild around a new core of young talent. And even though Amaro made some of the first deals to aim the Phillies in the new direction, he was let go. Ironically, some of the moves Amaro made -- such as grabbing Odubel Herrera in the Rule 5 draft and swapping Marlon Byrd for pitching prospect Ben Lively -- are showing promise.
Executives losing jobs or moving to a different club is nothing new. But seeing someone move from the front office to a lower level on-field position is almost unheard of. That's what Amaro decided on last winter, when he joined the Red Sox as their first base coach. Saturday, I saw him in uniform as the Red Sox visited the Yankees.

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